Can you share a trick to ‘disrupt’ a typical market?

. – “The first thing to remember is the original definition of ‘disruption’. This was coined by the late Harvard Business School professor Clay Christensen, who developed the theory on disruptive innovation. Christensen looked at why successful companies fail when they seemingly have the best products, while new entrants suddenly become winners in well-established markets with a product that is far less well developed.

He discovered that, while established companies focus on their best customers and on improving their products, they often develop their products well beyond what their customers need, resulting in the product becoming too sophisticated for the majority of the market. This creates a gap for a product that may not be leading edge but still ‘good enough’ for a large part of the market, which can then become a mainstream product that disrupts the market.

Nowadays, we label many things as ‘disruptive’ and there are other kinds of innovations that can disrupt a market. No matter which approach you choose, the key is to focus on creating value for customers. Keep in mind that value does not always mean a more sophisticated product – it could be one that simplifies things instead. This is often difficult for corporates.

Growth hacking: an approach for all types of businesses?

“Sure. However, there is a difference between start-up and corporate growth hacking in my opinion. For start-ups, it is all about revenue growth; they care less about profitability.

Successful corporate innovations focus on making a profit first and foremost. Only once they have proven an idea is profitable do they switch their focus to growing it.

Are all markets ‘disruptable’?

“Probably yes. However, some markets may still be easier to disrupt than others. Most companies tend to think their market is safe, because it may be an industry that requires heavy investments or is protected by regulation.

But take the airline industry as an example, which has a heavy investment requirement and lots of regulations. Yet low-cost carriers with point-to-point, no-frill business models were still able to disrupt the industry considerably, and I would argue for the benefit of customers as airline travel is much more accessible than it was 15–20 years ago. A good sign of whether a market is disruptable or not is if many of its customers are dissatisfied with the current offerings but do not have enough options or alternatives to choose from.”